Poison
by xNearImpossiblex
Summary: Poison looks innocent enough and lures you in, waiting to kill. Draco is Lucy's living poison. She knows to stay away and has, that is until her 6th year at school. Secrets start to unfold and changes begin. They lead her to him, aginst hers and his will.
1. Preface

_So this is my first Harry Potter-oriented story and I've been working on it for a while. I know I have two other stories to focus on, but I really wanted to get this one out, especially since I've been in a big Harry Potter mood lately. Anyway, the love interest with be Draco Malfoy and the main potragonist will be an OC I created. And I know a lot of people don't like OCs, but I don't really think Hermione and him work since I really like Ron and Hermione and God knows I HATE Pansy. Thus, a Draco and OC love story. So if you like the idea please review and tell me what you think. Constructive criticisim is welcomed, but flaming is just inapporopiate and immature--if you don't like it, don't read. Thankies! Please, review!_

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**Preface:**

**LUCY'S MEMORIES** of her childhood were pretty vague. However, one day, in early spring, nearing her sixth birthday, was a day she could remember vividly.

Her mother, Adelena Calix was distant and quiet, things she never was; Adelena was usually a very attentive and outgoing woman. Days went on and the worse Lucy's mother got until she took Lucy to her grandmother, Emma Gerard's home in a small and peaceful part of England.

At first, Lucy thought she was just there to visit, like usual. Yet, as it seemed, that wasn't the case.

She had been sent off to play in the den while her mother and grandmother talked. It was normal, but, that time, it didn't feel normal to Lucy. Something was going on, something was wrong—even at five-years-old, she could figure that out. Lucy was going to find out what was up.

As stealthily as a child could be, she crept into the living room and leaned against the wall to eavesdrop on the adults in the kitchen.

"…I can't do it anymore, Mum." came her mother's voice, sounding strained compared to its standard cheery. Was she crying? She sounded upset, so upset that she wasn't speaking German like she always did to her mother.

"Adelena," began her grandmother, but Adelena cut her off, "You don't understand, Mum. She's not safe with me; she'd be safer with you in a place where I know You-Know-Who won't look."

"But the Dark Lord is dead. He won't come for you." Now, something was really wrong. Even Lucy's grandmother wasn't speaking German and that was her native tongue.

"Yes, he would."

"How do you know?"

"Because I can sense his returning. He's not dead."

Lucy heard a horrified gasp com from her grandmother. "…H-How? But…I thought…! When?"

"I don't know when." her mother sighed, exhausted. "Probably years from now, I don't know, but I can feel it in my bones. All I know is that when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returns, he'll try to gather as many allies as he can. That includes our kind once more. And when Luciana becomes of age, he will definitely try to recruit her. I cannot subject her to that."

"So you're just going to abandon her, Adelena?" inquired Emma sternly.

Lucy's golden eyes widened. _Abandon? Me? Mummy is leaving?_, she thought from her hiding place. No, she wouldn't. Adelena was her mother; she loved her and would never abandon her own child. She was the only parent Lucy had.

"I'm not abandoning her, Mum. She's my daughter. My only child." her mother said defiantly. The child smiled to herself.

"Than what do you call leaving your young child behind?" argued her grandmother.

Again, Adelena sighed deeply. "It is for her own good. You-Know-Who knows me, but he knows nothing of Luciana. Nor does he know you. Luciana will be safe with you from him. If Luciana is with me, the Dark Lord will become aware of her."

"But--" Emma started frantically. Nonetheless, she stopped and took a deep breath before asking something different, "Where will you go?"

"Into hiding…somewhere. With a friend possibly. As far away as I can. Far enough away to let You-Know-Who think I'm dead and to keep him distracted from you two. Don't fret; I'll stay in contact with you as often as I can to keep you updated and to check up on Luciana. As well, I'll send someone to protect you both as an extra precaution."

"What do I tell Luciana? She may be young, but she is quite perceptive. She will figure out that I am lying if I tell her you went on "vacation"."

"Tell her the truth."

"The truth? _All_ of it, Adelena?"

"Absolutely not, Mum. Just tell her I had to leave her behind on business for the Ministry and won't be back for a long time. This is sort of business. Either way, Luciana must never know the entire truth. Teach her magic to be a proper witch, certainly, but never tell her what lies within the other half of her blood. Never. Darius demanded of so, I promised him."

"But what about when becomes of age?"

"I'm hoping my half of her blood will overpower her father's half."

"But, Adelena--"

"_Please,_ Mum. I'm begging you. Please watch over my daughter, your granddaughter."

For a while, there was a tense-filled silence, Luciana's heart was thundering against her ribcage. Her throat had become dry and was tightening as her eyes stung, tears threatening.

"Fine, Adelena. I will take Luciana." Emma spoke, her voice reluctant.

"Thank you, Mum, thank you." said Adelena gratefully yet, sadly.

Tears cascaded down Luciana's pale face and did not stop.

The next morning, Lucy woke up to find her mother nowhere in sight.


	2. Chapter: One

_So here's chapter one of my Draco/OC story! Thanks to those who reviewed--I was really happy to see that two people reviewed the preface on the first day I released this story. Anyway, this story is taking place during Luciana sixth year, but it won't be following the entire plotline J.K. Rowling created; I'm altering it a bit. And if this story goes well and I make it to the sequel, I'm going to be altering the 7th book as well to acommadate my story. So please enjoy this new segment and please, review! Constructive criticism is welcomed, but flaming in inappropiate and immature. Please, review! And enjoy! Thankies!_

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**Chapter: One**

"…**CY…"**

"Lucy…?"

"Lucy?"

"Luciana Rosemarie Calix!"

Suddenly, a hard leather ball came down upon her head snapping her out of her thoughts painfully. "_OW!_ What the bloody hell?!" she exclaimed angrily as she glared up at the tall shadowed figure looming over her.

She squinted against the bright afternoon sun and allowed her narrow, cat-like eyes to refocus. Once they were, the shadowed figure became an adolescent boy holding an oddly shaped and hard leather ball, a Quaffel, , Lucy scowled. He was the culprit.

"What was that for, Stefan?" she snapped, rubbing the top of her head.

Stefan Alistair was a boy from the neighborhood and from school that Lucy had known for a good two years or so. He was like her older brother of sorts—being a year older than she. His longish dark brown hair was slightly wavy and constantly fell in his face. It was like a mop and was so dark it looked black. Nonetheless, it worked for the blue-eyed boy with his high cheekbones and thick eyelashes. Stefan was too pretty, well too pretty for a boy at least. Despite his youthful and feminine face, his light orbs seemed to have an ancient wisdom and strength behind them. As well, he was very tall—almost 6'3".

"Well, excuse me, Lucy, but I have been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes. We can't settle on something and you're our referee, mate," he pointed out with furrowed brows. He then, sighed. "But since you were daydreaming _again_, it's a moot point."

Lucy huffed yet, couldn't argue. Everything the dark-haired brunette had said was true. She was supposed to be keeping some score and refereeing the small Quidditch game her friends from school and around the neighborhood had set up in a large field far away enough from the eyes of Muggles. Unfortunately, Lucy had been distracted. Not by mindless daydreams, but by her memories. One memory in particular, the same memory that had been haunting her mind nearly every day for ten years.

Sighing deeply, Lucy shook her head and rose to her sneakered feet. She feigned a bright smile as she patted away the dirt from the back of her holey and ripped jeans—she had been sitting on the ground the entire time. "Sorry, mates. You're going to have to redo that play." Lucy announced, brushing her brown bangs from her eyes.

A round of groans from boys and girls sounded from above.

"Nah. Let's call it a day." Stefan stated. He lifted his bright eyes to the graying sky. "Besides, it's starting to get dark and storms were predicted."

That was followed by a few protests, but most agreed. Doing so, teenagers descended back down to the ground and dismounted their brooms. With that, everyone as a group started to leave their secluded, little playing field. Soon, Lucy, Stefan, and their friends separated, shouting their various kinds of "good-byes". Before Lucy knew it, she and Stefan were walking alone down their street of Applecherry Lane towards their homes, which were across from each other's.

"You know, Stef," Lucy said, tucking her slightly wavy locks behind her ears, which had at least four holes in them with different earrings. "You didn't have to stop the game."

"Maybe," the seventeen-year-old shrugged one shoulder. His other was occupied by his broomstick, which was resting against it. "But you seemed a bit distracted, Lucy."

"…I was, but nothing that could make me incapable of judging a silly match of Quidditch." she lied expertly with a shrug of her own.

"That didn't seem to be the case. Waa it that memory again?"

"Stefan,"

Lucy did not want to talk about it. She told him about it once when they had started to become really close in her fourth year and his fifth year at Hogwarts and she had regretted it ever since. Stefan would always pry. Yes, she knew he cared about her and that was nice, but she wasn't a very "sharey-feely" kind of girl.

"The one about your mum, right?" he urged, staring right at her.

"_Stefan,_" she warned through her teeth.

A frown marred the young man's face. "It was, wasn't it?"

Lucy groaned, rolling her tawny-hued eyes. "Yes. Now, can you just let it go?" she said in exasperation.

"But doesn't it bother you, Lucy?" Stefan pressed. The clouds started a darker gray as the sun began to set.

"Of course it bothers me. My mother _left_, Stefan. I mean, yes, she sends owls every so often, but--"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what?"

"I mean, doesn't the other parts of your mother and grandmother's conversation bother you? Make you curious?"

His companion looked up at you oddly. "What are you going on about, you crazy git?"

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "The whole "other half of your blood" thing or the "whole entire truth" thing or "coming of age" thing or the whole "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and you" thing. Doesn't _any_ of that make you a _wee_ bit curious?" inquired Stefan.

Lucy thought about it, but not for long. Of course she was curious, but she'd rather not have the brunet male know that—he'd just prolong the conversation even more. Thus, she lied. "In all honesty, _no_." the light-haired girl answered nonchalantly. "Besides, you and I know someone who should and does worry about those kinds of things as he has it far worse than I. So I consider myself lucky and thus, I am not curious."

Stefan furrowed his boys, searching the fifteen-year-old's pale face. He didn't look like he was buying it. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"_Really_, Lucy?"

"For Merlin's sake, Stefan!" Lucy exclaimed, throwing up her arms. "Yes! A hundred times yes!"

"All right, all right. Calm down." he said, holding up a hand in defense.

"Well, you're being obnoxious." she retorted.

"Well, sor-ry. I'm just worried about you."

"Don't be."

Stefan scoffed and looked away. "That's a bit hard for me."

"I don't see why. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself. And besides, all that stuff probably isn't that big of a deal. Grammy and Mum are doing whatever they are doing to keep me safe, I'm not going to question. I mean, I wish my mother having to leave hadn't been part of the equation, but there's nothing I can do now." Lucy explained simply, mostly trying to convince herself than her friend.

Stefan stared at her long and hard, his sapphire spheres critical making her insides squirm a little—she hated how he could do that, as if looking into her soul. 'So you're not going to question it at all?" he asked. She just glared at him making him back off immediately.

After that, Lucy changed the subject to something a lot lighter. Stefan complied until they reached their homes. "See you tomorrow, mate." Lucy said, giving her best friend a brief wave.

"I'll owl you later tonight." Stefan said in return.

"Right." she smiled slightly.

With that, they parted and went to their designated houses.

Lucy stepped inside into the foyer of the quaint-sized English home. As she kicked off her white and black checkered Converse, the teenager called out, switching her language from her native tongue to German. "Grammy! _Ich bin nach Hause!_" she said, announcing that she had returned home.

However, when the girl didn't receive an answer, she called louder saying the same thing.

That time, she received a reply. "_Ich bin im Wohnzimmer, Liebe_." came the warm and bubbly voice of Lucy's grandmother.

Smiling, Lucy made her way through the den and her grin grew seeing the elderly woman sitting in the living room, petting her calico and fat cat, Tom as she watched a rugby game on the television.

The living room, like the rest of the house, smelled like cinnamon, butter, daffodils, and sugar. Pictures, that moved, hung on the halls being of mostly horses and cats. Vases of daffodils were placed on any flat piece of furniture in the room as those were Lucy's grandmother's favorite flower—and had become Lucy's at some point. An ornate rug covered most of the wood flooring. There was a light red couch in the middle of the room with a white thrown over the back—that Grammy had knit herself—and on either side of the couch was a dark pink armchair with frilly throw pillows. A book case with numerous books lined the right wall near the long windows that had white lace curtains. Finally, in front of the coffee table that was in front of the couch, was a very old fashioned television, but, thanks to magic, had great reception and picture—along with a lot of channels.

"_Dessen Gewinn_?" Lucy asked happily, asking who was winning the rugby game so far.

Hearing her granddaughter's voice, Emma Gerard turned her head and beamed tenderly. "Wales." she answered. "_Aber ich schaue nicht wirklich zu_." Grammy informed her granddaughter that she wasn't really watching the game as she pet her pet.

Emma Gerard was young to be a grandparent in many ways. She was only sixty-two having Lucy's mother at a young age and if that didn't make her seem youthful, her constant and contagious energy certainly made her so. Nevertheless, she had the infinite wisdom elderly held, which reflected in her soft chocolate eyes. Her blonde hair was steadily becoming silver and a few wrinkles were presented on the old witch's face. She had a bad knee, but that didn't seem to stop her from doing whatever she wanted—just on really stormy days. Emma was a strong woman, physically and mentally and was so very caring. Lucy's mother, Adelena and Emma were definitely mother and daughter as they were so much alike—at least from what Lucy remembered of her mother.

"_Will Fairlyodd Eltern anstatt zuschauen?_" Lucy suggested watching their favorite Muggle cartoon "Fairlyodd Parents".

"_Selbstverständlich._" Grammy more than willingly agreed.

Laughing, the youngest female in the room strolled over to the couch and sat beside her guardian as the old woman grabbed the TV remote from the coffee table. The second Lucy sat down, Tom hissed at her and then, jumped off her owner's lap and scamper out of the room. Lucy scowled.

"I don't get what that fur ball's problem is. Whenever I come within five inches of him, he freaks out and bolts." grumbled Lucy, switching languages absentmindedly as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the couch.

"Oh, dearie, don't let ol' Tom bother you." Emma reassured the adolescent, switching languages as well as she patted Lucy's knee.

"But it's not only him, Granny. It's most animals, even magical ones. They all freak and either try to attack me or try to get away from me as far as possible. The only one who doesn't do that is Sebastian."

"Well, Sebastian is special."

Sighing deeply, Lucy shrugged. "I guess…" she muttered.

Sebastian, her flammulated owl , _was_ special, at least to her. Just before it her first year at Hogwarts, her grandparents, like most parents/guardians, took Lucy to get her school supplies at Diagon Alley. Lucy had went into Eeylops Owl Emporium as an owl had been the pet she wanted—because of Tom, she didn't want a cat and she definitely didn't want a toad or rat—and unfortunately, all of the owls in the store started to act up. They'd screech, spasm in their cages, and so on. All except for one little brownish and gray flammulated owl. Because of the fact that that owl didn't become upset by her presence and because he was so willing to be by her side, Lucy bought the bird and named him Sebastian. At the time, Lucy was just happy that an animal didn't hate her for no apparent reason, but as she got older, Lucy was starting to think there was something special about her companionship with Sebastian.

Another pat on her from her grandmother brought Lucy back from her thoughts. Emma smiled that tender smile of hers, her eyes watching the girl closely. "Don't think too much, little Luciana. You'll start getting gray hairs like me if you do so." she joked.

Lucy immediately brightened up, chuckling. "I have a long way to go until I'm as ancient as you, Grammy." she teased, smirking playfully.

Emma laughed whole-heartedly. "Oh, hush, child." she scolded, which had very little bite to it while gently slapping Lucy's knee. She switched back to German, feeling more comfortable that way, "_Lassen Sie jetzt uns unserer Lieblingsschau zuschauen, bevor ich Abendessen anfange_." she said, saying that they'd watch TV before she'd start making supper for the two of them.

"_Selbstverständlich_." concurred Lucy with a big smile.

**XXX**

As Stefan had said it would, the weather turned for the worse. The sky became dark, rain started to pour heavily, thunder cracked, and lightening flashed. Yet, Lucy made nothing of the storm as England was known for its rainy-type weather.

Anyway, Lucy and her grandmother had their dinner then, the girl bid Emma a goodnight before heading upstairs to her room. Lucy still had some homework to do, so she'd do that and then, head to bed like always.

"_Gute Nacht,_ Grammy." Lucy kissed her grandmother's cheek.

"_Gute Nacht,_ Luciana. _Süße Träume. __Ich liebe Sie._"

"_Ich liebe Sie auch._"

And with that, Lucy went to her bedroom for the evening.

Lucy's room was fairly typical looking for a girl her age. Posters of her favorite bands, and some movies hung on her halls, not moving. Pictures of her friends from school and outside of school were also plastered to her light green walls, those being the things that moved. There were also stickers with sarcastic sayings, drawings, and banners from numerous things and people on her walls, too. Her furniture was an off white, except for her desk which had drawings and sayings etched into it. The desk was also covered by parchment, quills, ink, candy, schools books, and a single lamp. Her carpet was zebra print and very soft. She had a single closet filled her jackets, sweaters, uniform, robes, shoes, and costumes—she had made the costumes. She had a double-bed, which had purple bedding and pillows. As well, she had a throw of a blue and white winter wonderland her grandmother had crocheted on the bottom of her bed. By her bed was a night table with a lamp, her reading/distance glasses, and a digital alarm clock. Underneath the night table was a pretty good stereo with a bunch of CDs on top. And finally, hanging from a stand was a gold cage, an owl cage. However, there was no owl inside.

The owl was actually at Lucy's window.

Jumping with a soft gasp at seeing her precious pet in the terrible storm, the brunette rushed over to her window. She pulled it open to allow the soaking wet bird to come inside. Sebastian landed on her extended arm; Lucy closed the window with her free arm.

"Oh, I am so sorry, Sebastian. I had totally forgotten that I let you outside earlier." Lucy apologized deeply, caressing the creature's damp feathers. "You deserve two treats for being out in this weather." Sebastian didn't seem upset at all as he gently nipped her fingers. Then, he chirped, holding out his foot which had a rolled up letter attached to it. Lucy smiled, knowing who the note was from. She took it the letter and then, placed Sebastian in his cage. "Okay. You deserve three treats." Lucy said, going over to her desk beside the cage. He just flapped his wings happily, making water droplets fly about.

As she had promised, she gave Sebastian three owl treats before unrolling the letter he had delivered. She instantly recognized Stefan's impeccably neat handwriting:

**Do you know the answer to question 35 on our Arithmancy homework?**

**-Stefan**

Lucy almost burst out laughing. Stefan had told her that he would send an owl to before she went to bed, but she had suspected he'd just say goodnight and wish her sweet dreams like usually—yeah, silly, but Stefan did it. But she had never expected him to ask for homework, she'd usually do that to him. Then again, Arithmancy did seem to be his one weakness in school while it was one of her strong suits, that and Astronomy—Lucy had a knack for numbers and science.

Either way, Lucy released a small chortle then, grabbed a piece of parchment to write her friend back. Once she was finished, she tied it to Sebastian, apologized to him briefly, and sent him out to deliver her message to her companion.

Soon enough, Sebastian came back with Stefan's note. He thanked her and scribbled something else that struck up a long conversation between them. Lucy felt bad for sending Sebastian out again and again, but couldn't help it—Stefan and her could talk for hours.

Eventually though, Stefan told her that they both needed sleep. Lucy agreed and wished him goodnight, which he returned. And with that, Lucy did her normal nightly toilette routine, changed into a pair of blue plaid boxer short and a black tank top and slipped into bed.


	3. Chapter: Two

_So here's chapter two! Two chapters in one day! Whoo! I mean, I know I've only gotten two reviews and only on the first chapter, but I just want to keep this story out there. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new segment. Please, REVIEW! Constructive criticism is welcomed, but flaming in unnecessary and immature. Thankies. ^-^_

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**Chapter: Two**

**A VOICE **was yelling at her and her shoulder was being frantically shaken. Lucy just scrunched up her face in annoyance and groaned, rolling onto her side. Yet, whoever was trying to awaken her was persistent. The person kept calling her name, louder that time, and shook her harder.

"Bloody hell! I'm awake, dammit!" Lucy snapped, opening her golden eyes only to have her brows furrow upon seeing who was looming over her. "Stefan? What in_ Godric's_ name are you doing here in my bedroom? How did you even get into my house?"

"There's no time for questions! Gather whatever you think you might need and pack them quickly! Then, I'll meet you downstairs with your grandmother!" Stefan exclaimed, his voice rushed and panicky.

Dread rushed over her seeing her friend's terrified face. Stefan was always calm and collected, even when things seemed bad. She sat up in her bed. "Stefan, what's going on? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, already feeling cold sweat on her slender frame.

"No questions! Pack your things! And then, get to the den!" he ordered before turning and sprinting out of her bedroom.

For a second, Lucy sat there stunned, but snapped out of it and did as Stefan ordered. The short-haired girl yanked on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers then, started packing whatever she needed for school and such into her Hogwarts trunk and into a backpack. Once everything was packed, Lucy unhooked Sebastian and his cage from the stand to run out of her room. As she briskly descended the stairs, her heart was pounding in her ears and her stomach was in knots.

What was going on? Why did Stefan look so scared? Why did Lucy had to pack whatever possessions she could? And why was her grandmother going with her? Why? Why did they have to leave? Where were they to be going? What was happening?

Lucy got to the den to see her grandmother and Stefan speaking in scared and hushed voices—Emma had a couple of bags with her as well. The minute Lucy stepped into the room, they stopped and turned to her, both with terror on their faces—Emma more so than Stefan. Lucy immediately started asking questions, "Okay! Now, can you tell me what's going on, Stefan? Why did I have to pack my things? Are we leaving?"

"I'm sorry, Lucy, but this is no time to ask questions. I have to get you and your grandmother as far away from here as soon as possible before they come." Stefan told her, his keen eyes dancing from place to place as he listened closely to anything that sounded suspicious.

"Before _who_ comes? What the bloody hell is going on?!" the younger female in the room demanded, moving over to the fireplace where the other two were.

"Death Eaters," was all he said gravely.

Lucy wasn't going to let that be all he said, so she opened her mouth to have him elaborate. However, just as she was about to question why Death Eaters of all people were going to their tiny little neighborhood to her little home, they came multiple popping sounds from outside where it was still dark—the sun wouldn't be setting for another hour or so. That caused everyone in the den to jump. Stefan moved over to the window and pressed his back up against the wall to move the curtains a nudge so he could see out without being seen himself.

His blue eyes widened and he snapped his head to the women, "Go! They're here! Go now! You know where to go, Emma!" he hissed hurriedly.

"But--!" Lucy started to protest, but was cut off by her grandmother grabbing her arm and forcing her into the fireplace beside her and her cat Tom.

Her grandmother grabbed a handful of Floo Powder from the jar beside the fireplace and threw it down, shouting, "Number 12, Grimmauld Place!" That caused green dust to fly up and the second that happened, Lucy realized Stefan wasn't in the fireplace with them.

"Stefan! Hurry! Get in here!" she cried as magic enveloped her and her grandmother.

Stefan, with a solemn smile, looked back at them. "I hope to see you later, Luciana."

What was that supposed to mean? Either way, it made Lucy even more scared than she already was. "Stefan!" the girl yelled, trying to step out of the fireplace and drag him back, but the Floo Powder was already doing its job—she couldn't escape it now.

Before the den of her home faded away, Lucy saw, with wide eyes, the front door of her home slam open followed by three cloaked figures step inside. She recognized those cloaked people, they were Death Eaters and Stefan was facing them alone. And with no wand? Why didn't he have a wand? Why were there Death Eaters?

Despite all those questions, Lucy could only scream out her friend's name as she was sucked away from her home, "_STEEEEEEEEEEEFAAAAAAAAAAAAAN_!"

**XXX**

Lucy never had gotten use to traveling by Floo Powder, she'd always stumble when exiting. Thus, since she was so distracted with leaving Stefan behind that when she arrived at the fireplace of the home of the Black family, the fifteen-year-old pretty much tripped and fell face first onto the wooden floor.

"Oh, Luciana!" exclaimed Emma stepping out of the fireplace to partially kneel by her granddaughter's side. The elderly woman helped the girl get to her feet by her shoulders. "Are you alright, dearie?" she asked in concern, brushing the soot off Lucy.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine," Lucy said shakily. She looked frantically to her grandmother. "But I'm more concerned about Stefan. We left him behind. He's alone with those Death Eaters." Tears started to sting in the corners of her light eyes fearing the worst for her best friend.

Her grandmother tried to smile reassuringly, but it came out small and weak. "Don't fret, love. Stefan will be alright. He can handle himself." Emma said, smoothing Lucy's messy bangs from her face.

"But--"

"Emma? Lucy?" came a familiar gentle yet, somber male's voice.

Jumping, the women snapped their heads to the entrance of the room to see a tall yet, scrawny man with mousy brown hair and a slightly scarred face. Lucy rushed over to him and gripped his arms desperately, "Uncle Remus! It's Stefan! Death Eaters attacked our house and we left without him! He's alone with those monsters!"

Lupin searched his goddaughter's eyes quickly then, his brown ones looked over the girl's head to look at a distraught Emma. Just seeing the old woman's expression and the look from her eyes told the werewolf everything he needed to know.

Lupin's eyes looked back down at Lucy's and feigned a smile. He squeezed her shoulders. "It's all right, Lucy. He will be alright, I promise." he softly comforted.

She furrowed her brows. _Why does everyone keep saying that? Stefan is alone with __**Death Eaters**__! How could things possibly be alright?!,_ she thought quizzically. "But, Uncle Remus--"

He spoke over her, speaking to the old woman at the fireplace who was trying to drag out their luggage and pets, "Emma, leave that. I'll get them. You take Lucy upstairs. There's a room for her and a room for you. Then, please come back downstairs and come into the dining room. Molly, Arthur, Severus, Nymphadora, and Alastor are already in there."

Emma looked apprehensive at first, but then curtly nodded. "Right." The light-haired female walked up to them and took her granddaughter's hand. "Come along, darling. Let's go upstairs. You need more sleep." she ushered Lucy out of the room.

"But--" Lucy started to protest. Why was everyone avoiding her questions? And why was everyone forcing her to go places?

Her grandmother just gave her another forced smile and guided her upstairs. Lucy just stared, confused and scared, but allowed Emma to take her up the stairs—she was still really tired, but far more terrified.

Emma took her granddaughter down the creaky hallway and to a door. The old woman knocked lightly and the two waited shortly until the door steadily opened. None other than the busy-haired, but pretty brunette Hermione Granger stood there, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Wh-Who is it?" she yawned sleepily—it was fairly early in the morning. Hermione then, blinked her eyes focusing. "Mrs. Gerard? Lucy?" the young witch questioned in surprised.

"Did you say Lucy, 'Mione?" queried the tired voice of the redheaded girl, Ginny Weasley as she appeared at Hermione's side. Ginny's reaction to see Emma and Lucy was the same. "Mrs. Gerard? Lucy?"

"Good morning, dears. I am terribly sorry if I woke you, but my granddaughter will be bunking with you two. You don't mind, do you?" Emma explained, offering her inviting and caring smile—though there was a hint of disdain behind it.

"Uh, no," Hermione said. She and Ginny stepped aside a little to allow entrance to the girls' temporary room in the Order of the Phoenix. "Come on in."

Emma smiled and lightly pushed Lucy into the dark and dusty room after kissing her cheek. Then, the woman turned around and headed back downstairs. Lucy watched her grandmother go before sighing deeply and rubbing the back of her neck. Something serious was going on, but Lucy had no idea what and that just caused her anxiety and dread to increase within her chest.

"Lucy? Are you okay?" asked Ginny, placing a hand on her arm. Her lovely sky blue eyes looked up at her friend in deep concern.

"…That's an awfully good question, Gin." Lucy sighed again.

"What's going on?" Hermione questioned with an arched brow.

"That's another good question." Lucy turned to the two girls. "No one will tell me anything. All I know is one minute is that one minute I was sleeping and the next, Stefan was forcing Grammy and me out of house because Death Eaters were coming."

The other two girls gasped with wide eyes. "_Death Eaters?!_" they cried aghast.

Lucy stiffly nodded. "Yeah. I don't know why they came. There was like three of them, but Stefan's alone with them and I'm worried sick about him. He didn't have a wand or anything." she explained, her throat tightening again at the thought of her best friend being killed.

Ginny and Hermione exchanged glances then, nodded to each other, which made Lucy raise a brow—what were they thinking? Before she could asked, Hermione rushed out of the room to go across the hall. Ginny snatched up Lucy's hand and they followed after the Muggle-born. They stopped at a door and Hermione frantically knocked at it.

Soon, an exhausted and slightly annoyed Ron Weasley answered. "Bloody hell, Hermione. It's four o'clock in the morning." the ginger-haired boy grumbled.

"We need to talk to Harry, Ronald. This is important. Move aside." she ordered sternly, storming into the room while pushing him aside. Ginny and Lucy followed the other girl.

Ron arched a brow seeing Lucy. "Luce? When did you get here?" he asked dumbfounded.

"Just now with Grammy." Lucy answered then, was yanked over to Harry's bed where Hermione was trying to get him to awaken.

"Harry! Harry! Get up! This is urgent!" shouted Hermione as she shook him.

Groaning, the inky-haired boy slowly woke up. He opened his emerald eyes partially to furrow his brows at the new blurry figures in his and Ron's room that weren't there when he first went to bed. "Wha-What's going on?" Harry Potter sleepily asked, sitting up and reaching for the night table for his spectacles. He slipped them on his face and blinked, finally able to see the three girls standing there with fretful expressions, especially on Lucy's. His brows furrowed seeing the pale and golden-eyed girl. "Lucy? Why are you here?"

"That's what I want to know." Lucy admitted with a frown.

"Death Eaters attacked her house. Stefan, that tall, pale boy from Ravenclaw, was left behind trying to protect her and her grandmother." Hermione explained.

Harry and Ron were completely awake now. "_What?!_" The two boys looked to Lucy, hoping they had heard wrong.

"It's true, but I don't know why. I have no idea what's going on. I don't even know if Stefan's all right. All I know is that Grammy, Stefan, and Uncle Remus are keeping something from me about this and they're most likely discussing it with the rest of the Order." she explained, her voice strained from frustration and the other negative emotions she was feeling.

Harry face grew serious as he swung his feet off the bed. "Ron, did George and Fred give you any of those magical eavesdropping ears from last time?" he asked his best friend.

"Yeah, I think I got one, mate." Ron nodded then, looked scornfully at Hermione. "Hopefully, Hermione's pig-looking fur ball hasn't eaten that one too."

"Shut up, Ronald. Leave Crookshanks alone." she retorted, glowering at the freckled boy. He just glowered back.

Rolling her eyes at her brother and friend, Ginny spoke up, "I'll get it." She turned and left the room to get what Harry asked for leaving Lucy with the Hermione, Ron, and Harry.

She shifted uncomfortably, rubbing her arm and looking around the boys' room as she didn't know exactly what to say the other three. Lucy had been to the Order Headquarters before as her godfather Remus Lupin was a member yet, she had just been there to visit him. She hadn't been there long enough to spend time with her classmates the so-called Golden Trio. Yeah, she was in Gryffindor with them and yeah, they were friendly and spoke every now and then. However, they weren't the best of friends or anything. Lucy was more friends Ginny and some people from Ravenclaw as Stefan was in that House. Thus, whenever Lucy was alone with Hermione, Ron, and Harry, she didn't know exactly what to say. Then again, right now, what was there to say when she didn't know what was taking place and was completely rattled because of tonight's events?

She really hoped Stefan was alright. He was a strong wizard, but there was no way he could take on three Death Eaters alone and without a wand. Why didn't he have his wand on hand? Why did he come to the Black home with her and her grandmother? Why had Death Eaters attacked her house in the first place? And why was everyone acting like everything was okay? Why was no one telling her anything?

Suddenly, a big hand was placed on her shoulder bringing her out of her thoughts. She turned her eyes for her amber spheres to meet the green ones of Harry. "You alright, Lucy?" he asked, genuinely concerned. Behind him, Hermione and Ron's expressions reflected the same.

"Honestly, no. I'm flustered and really, really bloody confused. No one will tell me a damn thing," Lucy admitted, crossing her arms over her chest. "But I'm not worried about me, I'm more worried about Stefan. He's the one facing those cloaked bastards."

"I'm sorry." Harry said. "I wish I knew what was going on, too and what's happening with Stefan."

Lucy looked at him mildly surprised. He was the first person so far that hadn't told her everything was going to be alright while feigning a smile. It was nice to hear someone being honest, even just a little. "Thanks, I guess." she said, sounding grateful but tired.

"I got it!" Ginny announced, stepping into the room holding up one of her older brothers' inventions.

Harry smirked a bit at Lucy. "But we're going to find out what's going on."

With that, all five adolescents gathered at the top of the stairs and Ron lowered the waxy ear so that it hung in front of the door to the dining room where the Order met. Ron, Lucy, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny listened closely hoping to catch what the Order members were saying.

They were just starting to catch words when the ear was suddenly tugged so hard it was ripped from Ron's hands. The teens jumped and looked down to see a roughed up Stefan standing there with a stern and fatigued look on his pretty face.

"You five know perfectly well that underage witches and wizards are not allowed to be part of the Order of the Phoenix's meetings and that includes _eavesdropping_ on them." he said.

"Stefan!" Lucy exclaimed, her face lighting up and relief consuming her.

She tore away from the banister and as quickly as her legs could take her, she ran down the stairs. Lucy threw her herself at Stefan, wrapping her arms tightly around his skinny frame. Normally, she wasn't a very affectionate person, especially in front of an audience, but the brunette was just so incredibly happy to see her friend alive.

Lucy stepped back and beamed up at him only to frown when she finally got a good look at his face. His hair was disheveled, dirt and blood covered his pale skin, and his clothes were ripped. There was a gash at his temple and his fingers and face were crusted with blood, too. Somehow, Lucy had a feeling most of the blood covering him wasn't his. Stefan looked terrible.

Hesitantly, she reached up. "Stefan, you're bleeding." she softly whispered.

He caught her wrist, his face showing no emotion. "I'm fine. Just a scratch. Don't worry. I need to speak to the other Order members." Stefan released her hand, walked past her, and started towards the dining room. Just before he entered, without looking back, he said nonchalantly, "Go to bed. You need your rest, Luciana. That goes for all of you as well, Ginny, Hermione, Harry, and Ron." With that, he headed into the room leaving Lucy there flabbergasted. The others stared down at her, not knowing what to say or do.

Feeling their eyes, Lucy glanced up at them—her face suddenly holding no emotion. "Thanks, guys. We tried." she said with a shrug.

The four on the stairs exchanged glances.


	4. Chapter: Three

_Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it--like myself! And Happy Friday to those who don't! Here is chapter three--segment four! Pllease, enjoy and if you do PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW~! Constructive criticism is welcomed, but flaming in unnecessary and inappropiate. Thankies! Please, enjoy!_

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****Chapter: Three**

**SHE COULDN'T **sleep, not even if she wanted to. Too many questions and worries were running through her mind to even try to fall asleep. That being, Lucy didn't bother trying. Stefan had told her and the others to go to bed, but she was the only who did not listen and sat on the rickety and dusty stairs of the Black's home. As silly as it sounded, she was hoping that she'd at least catch one word of what the Order was talking about. Nevertheless, as it seemed, after sitting there for a good two hours, she had heard nothing, except muffled talking—all she knew is that they were talking about what happened back at her home earlier that morning.

Sighing deeply, Lucy rested her chin in her hands as her elbows were propped up on her knees.

She understood that underage witches and wizards weren't allowed to sit in on the Order's meeting, but how much would it hurt to allow someone underage to sit in when the meeting obviously involves them? Lucy never understood that as usually the meetings were about Harry and Voldemort and the Order never allowed him to be part of the meeting. All Lucy wanted to know, now that Stefan was safe, was why the Death Eaters had come to her house? Was that little bit of information so much to ask for?

"Lucy?" came the soft, but strong voice of Harry Potter from behind her, snapping her out of her reverie.

Lifting her head, she peered over her shoulder and up the stairs a little to see the "Chosen One" standing there. "I thought you went to the bed with the others." Lucy commented, watching him as he descended and sat next to her.

"I had, but I couldn't fall asleep." he admitted, his voice letting on more than he said.

"Nightmares?" she guessed. She didn't know him very well, but she had heard from Ginny who had heard from Hermione about the nightmares that constantly plagued the boy at night.

His green eyes looked at her in shock through his glasses before frowning and looking away regrettably. "Yeah…" Then, he briefly turned to her. "And you didn't even bother sleeping because you're still worried about what they're talking about, right?" he guessed, being spot on like Lucy had been with him.

She bitterly laughed and turned her attention to the dining room door. "Yeah…" she sighed. "Is it so hard for someone to tell me what's going on? I mean, this whole meeting involves me, I know it does, so don't I have the right?"

"I ask myself that every time I come here and they hold a meeting." Harry muttered, raking a hand through his untamable locks.

"Well, at least this time it's not about you." Lucy said.

"I have a feeling that's not entirely true." he said.

Not liking how they were _both_ down, Lucy attempted at making a small joke, smirking a little, "Vain much?"

Fortunately, Harry caught on and gave a tiny smile himself. "It happens when you're the "Chosen One"." It wasn't really funny, but it made the two of them chuckle softly. That brightened their moods, even just a little, and that was something they both needed, especially Harry.

After that, things fell quiet between the two. It wasn't a completely awkward silence as the two teens were friends yet, it had never just been them two alone nor did they talk all that often. Thus, Lucy decided to strike up a conversation to break the quiet; she figured that since he was there, she would make the most of his company. "How has been your summer so far, Harry?" she asked.

"The same as it always is. I stay at the Dursleys' for a few weeks and I've told you how they are before. Then, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione got me and took me to the Burrow. I always love it there and then, we came here and I guess we're staying here the remainder of the time." he answered with a small shrug. "Yourself?"

"Spent it mostly at home doing homework, spending time with Grammy, and playing Quidditch with Stefan and some other kids. Though, Grammy and I went to Euro-Disney for the first time a few weeks ago." claimed Lucy, gazing up at the ceiling. She smiled at the memory of when her grandmother and she went to the Muggle theme park in France.

"Euro-Disney?" questioned the young man with a cock of his head. "I think I've heard of that. I think Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia took Dudley there for one of his birthdays."

"Let me, guess," Lucy made a face. "They didn't take you with them."

"Of course not."

"Lame. I think you'd love it. It's a Muggle amusement park, but it's loads of fun. The rollercoaster's there are the best, probably my favorite part of the place."

"I thought you didn't like heights, that's why you didn't try out for the Quidditch team."

"True, but the rollercoasters go wicked fast that I don't even notice the heights. They're so thrilling."

Harry smiled, seeing her face so content at talking about such a thing. It was a nice change compared to how troubled she appeared earlier and how nonchalant she acted at school. "Sounds like a lot of fun." he commented.

"It is, mate." Lucy nodded. "Maybe I'll take you sometime. You and the others. I'm sure Grammy won't mind, she adores you all."

"Really?" The spectacled-boy's eyebrows rose shocked.

"Yeah, why the hell not?" she shrugged carelessly. "I don't hang out with you guys enough anyway."

"True," he nodded, chortling a little. "Now, that you mention it, I think this is the first time you and I have actually had a conversation alone together."

"That's probably because you're always…um, "busy" and I'm off being anti-social." the brunette stated, leaning back on her hands.

"True." concurred the young man only to receive a playful punch in the arm. "_Ow_!" he exclaimed, rubbing his arm. "Bloody hell. You hit hard for a girl." Lucy just snickered making him chortle as well.

Afterwards, Harry and Lucy kept talking about pretty much anything that came to mind, mostly school and how they excited they were to return that year. They talked until they drifted asleep on the steps.

**XXX**

"So how do you think we should wake them up?" was the very first thing Lucy woke up to. That sounded a lot like Ginny.

"Maybe we should just let them awaken on their own. They look fairly comfortable." That voice had to belong to Hermione.

"They're sleeping on a flight of stairs, Hermione. How is that comfortable?" And that was Ron, always the sarcastic one, especially with Hermione.

"Well, it doesn't seem to be bothering Lucy or Harry." she retorted.

"Whatever." he muttered carelessly. Then, his voice got mischievous, "Hey, doesn't animals freak out when they're around Lucy?"

"Yeah?" both girls replied.

"So why don't we bring Crookshanks down here? He'll freak out, making so much noise that the two of them will wake up." Ron suggested. Lucy could picture him smirking.

"You so much as touch me, Ronald Weasley, and you'll find a bunch of spiders in your bed tonight." Lucy mumbled, slowly opening her eyes. At that, Ron paled from the threat while Hermione, Ginny, and Harry, who had been awoken by the voices, sniggered at his scared expression. Lucy just rolled her eyes, yawned and sat up.

"How did you two wind out sleeping on the stairs anyway?" inquired Ginny curiously as Harry and Lucy stretched, getting the cricks out in their backs and shoulder from slumbering on the steps.

"We were talking since I couldn't go back to sleep and Lucy just couldn't. I suppose we talked so long that we tired ourselves out." responded Harry, cracking his neck.

"What were you two talking about?"

"About our plans to blow up the world." Lucy replied dully, extending her arms over her head.

The group looked at her skeptically, even Harry. "Her humor is quite peculiar, isn't it?" came another voice. The five witches and wizards turned their heads to see a clean and healed Stefan standing at the foot of the stairs with an amused smirk on his face. "You get used to it though." he chuckled.

"Oh, shut your trap, Stefan." Lucy huffed. She was grumpy from the lack of sleep—that and other things.

"Good morning to you, too, Lucy." Stefan smiled. His azure optics glanced to the others, who were watching the two incredulously—Stefan and Lucy put on quite a show sometimes. "Good morning, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry."

"Morning." they hesitantly replied.

Noticing their tone, Stefan's smile faltered just a little. "I guess I gave you all a big scare earlier, coming in all beaten up and acting so serious. I apologize, but everything's alright now. I've even stopped bleeding. No worries." he told the younger teenagers, demonstrating his forehead, which had indeed stopped bleeding, but looked completely healed as well.

They stared at him, not looking very convinced, especially Harry and Lucy, but none of them said anything. Satisfied with that, Stefan grinned more. "Okay then. So whose hungry for a spot of breakfast?" he said.

At that, Ron was already heading into the dining room. Rolling their eyes at the ginger's endless hunger, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny followed after him. Lucy kept staring at Stefan with an annoyed look in her eyes. Naturally, he noticed this and frowned with a deep sigh.

"You're livid with me, correct?"

"Not just you. Grammy, and Uncle Remus too, but you especially."

"I'm sorry." he said with much regret. He was use to Lucy's temper, which was short, but he didn't like it when it was directed at him—he hated it more when it was his fault.

She stood, her face still blank, but her eyes showing how upset she was. Her eyes always gave away how she felt, but you had to be really good at seeing past her superb acting skills—like Stefan—to see such. "I don't want apologies, Stefan. I want answers as to _what_ is going on." she declared.

He made a face. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to give you such." the brunet boy informed her reluctantly. Seeing her become even angrier, he apologized again.

"I told you I didn't want apologies." Lucy said coolly again, walking down the stairs and walking past him. She went into the dining room where the rest was gathered. Shaking his head, he followed the pale female.

The minute Lucy entered the dining room, her nostrils were ensnared by different smells of various foods.

Lucy was suddenly wrapped up in a big, tight hug by a plump woman with flaming hair. She took aback, blinking, but calmed realizing who the person was. "Hello to you, too, Mrs. Weasley." she said, patting Ginny and Ron's mother's back.

Molly Weasley pulled back and cupped the girl's face. "Oh, Luciana, dear! I was so worried about you, but I'm glad to see you safe and sound!" She looked close to tears—Mrs. Weasley worried about everyone, even if they weren't her children.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." was all Lucy said, feeling her cheeks burn a little. Even with being such good friends with Ginny and having been to her house a couple of times, she wasn't use to the Weasley mother's tenderness. Frankly, she wasn't use to anyone giving her physical affection except her grandmother, Stefan, and Uncle Remus sometimes.

"You, Emma, and Stefan gave us quite a scare, you three did," added Arthur Weasley, walking up beside his wife and placing an arm around her. "But we're relieved you three made it out."

"Sorry and thank you, Mr. Weasley." Lucy said.

The two just smiled and Mrs. Weasley took the girl by the shoulders and guided her over to the long table to join everyone else that was sitting around it. "Enough chitchatting. Time to eat, I bet you're famished. You too, Stefan." she said, sitting Lucy in a chair next to Lupin and her grandmother.

"Yes, ma'am." Stefan replied, taking the empty seat next to Emma and Mad-Eye Moody.

"Good to see you again, Luce." beamed Nymphadora Tonks. She was sitting on the other side of Lucy's godfather and her hair was now cropped and was bright blue—last time Lucy had seen her, it was long and dark purple.

"You as well, Tonks." Lucy gave a nod and a small smile—she liked Tonks, thought she was good for Lupin.

With that, breakfast began and everyone talked as they ate. The room was filled with cheer and noise. Everyone seemed happy, happy to see each other . They were all acting like what happened earlier hadn't happened. That didn't sit well with Lucy as she sat there quietly eating. How could they, especially Lupin, Emma, and Stefan, act like everything was okay? Yeah, sure, the Death Eaters hadn't followed Stefan to the Order's Headquarters, but they had still come to Lucy and her grandma's home. Why had they come? What did they want? And why did the Order have to have a meeting about it? Something was wrong and Lucy wasn't going to be like everyone else and pretend that there wasn't.

Lupin knew his goddaughter was a quiet one and didn't socialize much, at least from what he had seen when he had taught at Hogwarts nearly three years ago, but he knew her silence know wasn't because she was grumpy from lack of sleep or because she just didn't feel like talking. It was because she was angry and confused—more angry than confused knowing Lucy. He didn't know her temper as well Stefan yet, he did know it and it unnerved him seeing her so upset.

He quietly confronted the young brunette, "Lucy, are you alright?"

Idly, she looked to him in the corner of his eye. "Are you honestly asking me that, Uncle Remus?" she said a bit harshly.

Overhearing the two since she was so close, Emma scolded her granddaughter, "Luciana, don't speak to your godfather in such a manner."

Lupin weakly smiled at his elderly friend. "No, it's fine, Emma. Lucy is clearly upset and she has every right to be."

"No kidding." scoffed the teenager making Emma scold her again, but that time in German.

Lucy sighed deeply in frustration. "I'm sorry, Grammy, but like Uncle Remus stated, I'm pissed and I have every right to be." Since she was speaking so loud, everyone had gone silent and was watching the three people at the head of the table. Lucy went on, "All of you can pretend that nothing happened earlier this morning and hope that I'll forget about it, but I won't. I was forced out of my house to come here because a group of Death Eaters, _Death Eaters_, attacked. That's kind of something that a person can't forget. I want answers, so I'd appreciate if someone would give me some." Lucy knew she was being a brat, but she had always been one to be blunt, whether it was harsh or not.

Frowning Lupin and Emma exchanged glances before they looked to the other members of the Order of the Phoenix. They looked just as uneasy as Lupin and Emma, except for Severus Snape who seemed annoyed with it all—then again, what else was new?—and Mad-Eye Moody, who looked like he had seen such coming.

Lupin sighed. "Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron, please leave. We have something to discuss with Lucy privately."

There were protests, but Mrs. Weasley took care of that, "Do as he says, children!" No one argued with her—who would?—and pushed their chairs back to stand. They left the room, Ron taking toast with jam with him. However, Harry didn't leave without looking back at Lucy first.

Lucy watched her friends go then, glanced to the adults and Stefan around her. "Well?" she said expectantly with an arched brow.

For a moment, no one said anything. The members of the Order kept looking at each other as if they were silently discussing what they should say to the girl. Everyone had different expressions as that occurred, but the majority looked uncomfortable and reluctant to talk—Stefan and Emma looked the most uncomfortable.

Getting impatient, Lucy scowled and repeated, "_Well?_"

Lupin sighed deeply. "Since you're straightforward, Lucy, it's only fair that we are too." he said slowly. His soft eyes glanced to Emma and Stefan. "Would one of you like to explain or should someone else here do so?"

"I don't think anyone should at all!" Mrs. Weasley cried from her seat next to her husband. "Lucy is just a child!"

"I appreciate your concern, Mrs. Weasley, but this concerns me. I deserve to know." Lucy stated/ "So I would like some explaining, now, please." Yeah, her voice was calm and steady, but inside she was anxious and confused.

"I'll explain." Stefan announced, sounding and looking like he didn't want to speak at all, let alone be there. His eyes cautiously met Lucy's aggravated ones. "The Death Eaters came to your house because they were after y--"

"Me," Lucy's grandmother interjected. Everyone looked to her taken aback, but she was just staring at Stefan with an emotion in her eyes that Lucy couldn't identify and she could always read her grandmother.

Lucy brows furrowed as her cool demeanor diminished to be replaced with genuine confusion. "You, Grammy? Why would they want you?" she questioned. Lucy knew her grandmother was a good witch, but she was just a kind and elderly woman now, who barely used magic except if she was teaching her granddaughter something.

Sighing, the almost silver-haired woman turned to the younger female. "They most likely wanted information from me about your mother." she answered. All the members of the Order were watching Emma intently.

"My Mum?"

"Yes. They probably wanted information from me about your mother to find out where she is."

"Why?"

"To find out where your father is from her."

Lucy repeated herself, becoming more and more confused by the second, "Why?" Why would Death Eaters want to know where her parents were, especially her father? No one knew where her father was, not even her mother as he had just disappeared when Lucy was just an infant.

"Because at one time, your father _was_ a Death Eater. He was actually very close to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. However, when he met your mother, he changed sides. He betrayed You-Know-Who to marry your mother and be with you and obviously that didn't go over well with him. And now that the Dark Lord has returned, he's most likely trying to find your parents, especially your father, because of said betrayal to pay sure they pay."

The youngest person in the room was speechless. She just stared at her grandmother with wide eyes. Everyone else watched them, not knowing what to say—they had expected what had taken to place to do so. Emma, Lupin, Tonks, Mad-Eyed Moody, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Stefan, and Snape were anticipating what Lucy had to say to what her grandmother had told her.

Then, Lucy's expression grew blank again as she lowered her golden eyes to her lap. "I see." she said, her voice nearly inaudible. "May I be excused?"

"Of course, Lucy." Lupin nodded, speaking gently.

Saying nothing more, Lucy pushed her chair back, rose from it, and turned on her heel to leave the room.


	5. Chapter: Four

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed the past four segments--keep it up! Anyway, here is chapter four! I hope you enjoy!_

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**Chapter: Four**

**WHEN LUCY** had disappeared from the dining room, the remaining people in the room gazed to Emma, who was still staring at the door that her granddaughter had exited through with a solemn expression on her wrinkling face. When the oldest person in the room finally felt her companions' eyes on her, she turned to them looking grave.

"I know what you're all going to say, but I had to do it."

"But Lucy wanted the truth, Emma." Tonks pointed out.

"And that's what she got. Maybe it wasn't the entirety of it, but the truth is still the truth." Snap commented dully. Tonks shot him a glare to which he ignored.

"He's just being honest, Nymphadora." mumbled Moody.

"Don't. Call. Me. Nymphadora." Tonks hissed, her hair turning bright red. That was until Lupin placed a hand on hers calming her down.

"I still don't think we should've told Lucy anything. Adelena didn't want her to know anything and we all promised her we wouldn't tell Lucy anything, even if something happened." Mrs. Weasley pointed out. Her eyes were mainly focused on Stefan and Emma. "Adelena made you two promise especially. She'd be furious if she ever found out."

"Molly, calm down. I'm sure Emma had a reason." Mr. Weasley told his wife.

"Which is?" she said with furrowed brows.

"That is what I'd like to know as well." Stefan said, peering to the elderly witch beside him. "I was going to tell her everything and you cut me off with something else. Yes, it was the truth, but not really." He sounded peeved towards her, but mostly because of the way Lucy had reacted before leaving—or maybe her lack of reaction.

"I had to tell her something different, Stefan." Emma retorted, showing the stern side of her that she rarely showed. "You made a vow to be Lucy's Guardian. You promised Adelena that you would not tell Lucy a single thing. _Not a single thing._"

"And I haven't." he said defensively.

"But you were going to. And I know perfectly well that you've been encouraging Lucy to question everything in secret."

Stefan had always known the old woman was perceptive, but he had thought he had been discreet. It seemed he was wrong, so he wasn't going to lie that he hadn't done such yet, "I'm sorry, but I can't help myself. If you saw the pain and sadness in her eyes that I see every moment I spend with her, you would do the same, Emma. I feel quilt and regret when I look at her, keeping all these secrets from her. It's not fair to Lucy."

"You think I don't feel ashamed and guilty for lying to my granddaughter's face every day since her mother left her in my care? Of course I do, but I promised my daughter that I'd keep Lucy in the dark. And I will keep to my promise. As Lucy's Guardian and best friend and as Adelena's friend, you should do the same, despite your feelings for my granddaughter."

Stefan glowered at her. Emma, despite her old age, stood her ground and returned his glare evenly.

"Please, you two. Arguing amongst ourselves isn't going to solve anything." said Lupin to his friends. They glared at each other for another moment before turning to the werewolf and the usual voice of reason. Lupin smiled just a little, happy to see that their attention on him. "We cannot change what Emma had told Lucy. It may not have been the entire truth, but Lucy still got some of it and that it what Adelena asked of us: if Lucy ever questioned what was going on, we were to be honest, but not tell her everything. That is what Emma did. It may have hurt Lucy, but she is a big and strong girl, she'll make it through this. All we can hope for is that Lucy doesn't question any further, among other things. Agreed?"

"Agreed." was the unison reply from the other members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Moody added, with a gruff tone, "But wistful thinking may not do us very much when Luciana comes of age. For all we know, changes within her body may have already started."

"I haven't seen anything, but Lucy is very good at hiding things." Stefan admitted, sounding calm.

"That she is." Emma nodded, sounding calm now too.

"Well, we'll just have to keep a close eye on her." Mr. Weasley said.

Everyone nodded.

**XXX**

She wasn't angry nor was she sad nor was she confused. She wasn't exactly sure how to feel. Maybe she felt relief that she finally got answers and that she even got a little information about the mother she missed and about the father she had never known. However, Lucy had learned that her father had been a Death Eater, a _Death Eater_, a servant to Lord Voldemort and now, Voldemort was sending other Death Eaters to harass her grandmother just so they could harass her mother so they could kill her father—maybe even kill Lucy's mother and grandmother before or afterwards.

Sighing deeply, she sat on the edge of her bed in the bedroom she was going to be sharing with Hermione and Ginny while she, Grammy, and Stefan stayed at the Black home. Lucy stroked the silky feathers of her pet owl, Sebastian as the young witch tried gathering her thoughts. When the bird affectionately nipped her fingers, Lucy looked to him perched on her shoulder and smiled ever-so-slightly.

Then, the door opened revealing Ginny. She looked around until her eyes landed on Lucy. A look of relief crossed her pretty face and she moved over to the upperclassman. "We were all worried about you." Ginny stated, sitting down on the edge of the bed too.

"There was no need to be, Gin. All we did was talk. They didn't try to kill me or anything." responded Lucy nonchalantly, continuing to pet her owl.

Ginny frowned, but didn't feel offended; she was use the older girl's indifferent attitude and knew that was just her way of not wanting people to fuss over her. "What did you talk about then? About why the Death Eaters attacked your house, right?" the redhead asked, searching Lucy's face.

"Yeah." Lucy nodded.

"Do you…want to tell me about it?"

"Yeah. You and the others."

"Really?" Ginny took aback, surprised. Lucy was not the type of girl to want to talk to others about her problems—occasionally, she would tell others, but it was usually Stefan that she went to.

"Yeah," Lucy shrugged a shoulder carelessly. She smiled just a little, looking to her companion. "They were worried about me, right? Might as well rid them of their worries. Besides, it's something everyone should know anyway."

Ginny grinned and nodded. "Right." She rose. "I'll get the others."

"Right."

The youngest Weasley left the room and returned shortly with Harry, Ron, and Hermione in tow.

Like Ginny had said, the other three had been concerned for Lucy and instantly started asking questions as to what had taken place after they were asked to leave the dining room. Lucy calmed them down reassuring the group that she'd tell them everything if they were quiet. At that, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron silenced and patiently listened to what Lucy had to say. She told them everything. Once the cat-eyed girl was finished, she looked between his friends' face. Their expressions were pretty much the same; aghast and shocked.

"Y-Your…old man was a…D-Death Eater?" choked out Ron, his eyes wide. They were all sitting on the floor of the girls' room.

"Apparently. I'm just as shocked as you. I'm even more shocked to hear that he was one of Voldemort's best guys." Lucy nodded and raked a hand through her short strands.

"I wonder why." Ginny said.

"Ditto."

"But does that really matter? He isn't a Death Eater anymore." Hermione pointed out. "He stopped being because he fell in love with your mother." She slightly smiled at that, even though she was still surprised by what her peer had told them.

"Love is a powerful thing." Harry said. He knew that all too well, love had saved his life on more than one occasion.

"As it would seem." muttered Lucy, shrugging.

"So what are you going to do?" inquired Ginny.

"What do you mean?" Lucy looked to her with an arched brow.

"Death Eaters are after your family."

"Yeah?"

"In other words, your family is in danger." Harry elaborated for Ginny.

"True, but I have faith in the people here. They'll protect us, no one can penetrate these walls. The Order will protect my grandmother. And Stefan got us out before the Death Eaters could ask Grammy anything, so my Mum and my father are fine. For the time being. There's not much I can do, especially when I don't even know where my parents are."

No one could argue with that. If Lucy wasn't concerned, then they figured they shouldn't be.

"Though," Lucy began, catching everyone's attention. "I feel like they didn't tell me everything."

"What makes you say that, Lucy?" Ron queried, tilting his head to the side puzzled.

"Because when Grammy told me why the Death Eaters were at my house, everyone looked pretty shocked like they hadn't expected her to say what she did. Not to mention, Stefan was the one who were going to tell me what was happening first, but she had cut him off." explained the pale girl.

"So do you think they lied?"

"No. Grammy and Stefan would never lie to me. They told me the truth, but not all of it."

"_All_ _of it?_" questioned Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry at the same time.

"Yeah, I feel like there's more." Lucy confessed, leaning on the back of her hands—Sebastian had been placed back in his cage.

"You're probably just being paranoid, Luce." Hermione said gently.

Lucy shrugged. "Maybe." _Maybe I am just being paranoid. Maybe I'm over-thinking things. Stefan and Grammy wouldn't keep things from me. Uncle Remus, yeah, but not them._, she thought, chewing the inside of her cheek.

"It's probably best to not dwell on it," Hermione's voice brought Lucy back causing her to look at the curly-haired girl. Hermione smiled at Lucy, matching the smiles on Ron, Ginny, and Harry's faces. "Even if they didn't tell you everything, they're just doing it to protect you."

"Hermione's right," Harry agreed. "You should just enjoy the rest of the summer until we have to go back to school."

Lucy's thought over what her friends' said for a moment then, nodded. "Yeah. You guys are right. There's nothing to worry about. I'll just chill and have fun."

"There you go." beamed the spectacled boy. The others smiled like him and Lucy just made a little one.

Things were going to be alright. Lucy had nothing to worry about. She was just going to have fun with her friends and family like any teenage witch her age.

If Lucy only knew then that she wasn't being paranoid. If she only knew then that her life would turn completely upside side after that. If she only knew…


	6. Chapter: Five

_Well, here is chapter five! Woot! I'd like to thank those who have taken the time to review, favor, and so on with this story--it is much appreciated. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. If you do, please review. ^-^_

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**Chapter: Five**

**JULY EBBED **into August and August was moving by quickly. Over the month that Lucy had been at the Order, she had done just as she said she would. Lucy was no longer angry with Stefan, her grandmother, and her godfather and enjoyed her time with them. She had also become closer friends with Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron. She was having a lot of fun with everyone and was becoming more and more excited as September closed in, meaning she and the others would be heading off to their other home, Hogwarts for a new term.

However, during her time spent at the Order, Lucy noticed something very strange happening with her senses, particularly her smell. It wasn't a big deal or anything, but it was still peculiar. Lucy was starting to _smell_ people. Sounded weird, yes, but that was the only way she could describe it. She was able to identify people by their scent, even if they were many feet away and/or were not in her line of vision—behind her for instance. Some days, her nose was keener than others. Some days, her nose was completely normal and she could smell like everyone else. The young woman couldn't exactly identify people by their scent, though, as her nose wasn't that keen, but there were a few differences between the people she was surrounded by. The biggest difference she could distinct was male and female smells. Males had more spicy and musky scents while females had flowery and sweet scents. Nonetheless, deciding her sensitive nose wasn't that significant and wasn't sensitive all the time, Lucy told no one and just lived life normally.

Anyway, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley decided that the children should go to Diagon Alley to get their new—or at least new to Hermione, Stefan, Harry, and Lucy—supplies for school. The adolescents more than willingly agreed. So the next morning that was decided, the teenagers woke early with excitement and prepared themselves for a whole day of shopping. The girls were getting dressed in their room and the boys were getting dressed in theirs.

"What do you think, Lucy?" asked Hermione just as Lucy was pulling a pair of black capris with zippers on the sides up her long, pale legs.

"Think about what, 'Mione?" Lucy replied, buttoning her pants and then, reaching for the studded belt on her bed. The rest of her outfit laid there as well.

"On what Ginny should wear."

Furrowing her brows, Lucy peered over her bare shoulder to see the two girls staring at her. Ginny was holding up to two different shirts and from her stance, it looked like Hermione had been trying to help before deciding on what she should wear to Diagon Alley as she was still wearing her pajamas.

"Any particular reason you're having trouble?" Lucy questioned. "Just pick a shirt and wear it."

"I'm meeting up with Dean and I want to look nice." Ginny confessed with a shy yet, proud smirk as she blushed a little.

"Dean?" Lucy faced the other two and placed a hand on her hip. "As in Dean Thomas?" Ginny nodded happily. Lucy couldn't help the small smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. "So your dating Dean Thomas? Bet the family has had some interesting reactions."

"Only Mum and Dad know. My brothers have no idea." the redhead admitted. She sounded happy about that.

"They'll certainly find out today." teased Lucy, her smirk growing.

Ginny shrugged. "If it happens, it happens." She looked back herself in the mirror, looking at how each shirt looked on her it in. The fifth year sighed deeply frowning. "I don't know which one to choose."

"Both look really nice on you." Hermione offered. She wasn't really good at these types of things, so she didn't know how to help her friends, especially since the two shirts Ginny held did look nice on the youngest Weasley.

"But I can't wear both of them, Hermione." pointed out Ginny.

"Wear the blue turtleneck." piped up Lucy.

Surprised, Ginny and Hermione turned to her with raised brows. They exchanged looks then, looked at the blue shirt in Ginny's right hand. "Why that one and not the red polo?" inquired Hermione.

"Because if she wears the red, that'll be too much red. The polo would definitely look nice with her hair, but it's a bit of an overkill. The blue turtleneck will really bring out her eyes and will direct Dean's attention to them. As well, the blue compliments her hair, too. Not to mention, turtlenecks are usually formfitting, so Dean will get a nice look at your nice figure. Not to mention, the turtleneck leaves a lot for imagination and guys like a little mystery." Lucy explained with a logical tone. When Ginny and Hermione just stared at her, Lucy asked curiously, "What?"

"Nothing. We're just surprised." Hermione smiled with a soft chortle.

"By what?"

"That you know your clothes."

"I am girl. Got the same parts you do."

"Oh, don't be so serious, mate. We meant nothing offensive." Ginny reassured while tossing the polo on to her bed and starting to slide the turtleneck over her torso. "You just don't seem like the kind of girl who would know a lot about fashion and how to dress to appeal to guys from your attitude."

Lucy smirked coyly. "I'm a woman of many surprises." She grabbed her white T-shirt and pulled that on before slipping on a short-sleeve purple plaid shirt.

Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes, but giggled. "Well, Miss. Woman of Many Surprises, maybe you can help Hermione pick an outfit." Ginny stated playfully. She ran a brush through her long, fiery locks.

Hermione jumped and blushed which made Ginny smirk amused and Lucy arch a brow bemused. "Who are you trying to impress?" wondered Lucy to the other brunette, whose hair was a few shades lighter than hers.

Stiffening, Hermione's face became redder. Ginny answered for her, "My brother."

"_Ginny_!" cried Hermione, her voice hitching up an octave.

Ginny rolled her light blue spheres. "Relax, Hermione. Lucy is great at keeping secrets. Besides, that is who you want to impress, right? So you might as well let her help you." she pointed out.

Sighing in defeat, Hermione reluctantly agreed. She couldn't argue with the other girl's logic. Ginny had a knack at being right when it came to life outside of the academic world—Hermione was better with the academic world. Bashfully, she peered to Lucy who was using a pocket mirror to look at herself while she put on makeup. "Would you help me, Lucy?" Hermione asked.

"I don't see why not." Lucy shrugged absentmindedly as she put on powder cover-up.

Hermione smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"So what should I wear then, Great Fashion Master?"

Lucy arched a brow, looking oddly at Hermione in the corner of her eye. Nonetheless, she said, "Try a pink V-neck, a necklace and dark blue skinny jeans. And before you ask why, it's because pink is a really good color on you as seen from what you wore during the Yule Ball. A V-neck to show off a little bit of what you got, but with the necklace, Ron's attention won't be completely on your chest and skinny jeans because you have really nice legs so you might as well flaunt them."

Hermione beamed. "Thanks, Lucy!" She excitedly started to search for that exact outfit in her trunk.

"No problamo, 'Mione." Lucy responded, gliding brown eyeliner on the corner of her bottom and top lids.

"So is there anyone from school you want to impress, Lucy?" queried Hermione as she finished pulling on her clothes and started to tame her thick tresses with magic.

Lucy scoffed. "No." was her immediate answer. She was putting on her favorite necklace, which had a crescent moon pendent on it with a small black jewel. It had been gift from her father.

"Really? Isn't there at least one guy you fancy?"

"No."

"What about Stefan?"

"What about him?"

"Don't you two have a little "thing" going on? You spend a lot of time together and you seem awfully close."

"Because we're best friends and neighbors. Nothing more."

"That's a shame." Hermione sighed.

"Why, pray tell?" Lucy questioned, slipping on a few black rubber bracelets onto her right wrist. On her left wrist was silver watch.

"Because Stefan is gorgeous and seems to have a thing for you, Luce." Ginny answered, putting on some lip-gloss.

"Gorgeous, yes, but I highly doubt about that last part. Stefan is just naturally over-protective, like a big brother and that's how I see him."

The other girls shrugged. "If you say so." they said in unison.

"Then how about Harry?" Hermione said, checking her now tame and nice, wavy hair. Lucy noticed Ginny stiffened discreetly at his name—clearly, she still harbored some feelings for The Boy-Who-Lived.

"Harry? Why Harry?" rejoined Lucy, finding the question random.

"You two just seem to have gotten pretty friendly lately."

Rolling her tawny orbs, Lucy shook her head. "No. We're just friends. He's cute, I'll admit, and easy to talk to, but no. Besides, I don't know him well enough to even consider having a crush on him."

"So if you got to know Harry better, you might consider dating him?"

"If I say yes, will you stop talking about this?" Lucy could see Ginny was a bit uncomfortable with his subject as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Not to mention, Lucy was becoming a tad annoyed herself.

"Um, I guess?" Hermione said hesitantly.

"Then, yes. Maybe." Lucy nodded.

After that, the subject was changed and the girls continued getting dressed. When they were finished, the three headed downstairs and headed to the where the fireplace was. Harry, Stefan, and Ron were already there waiting for them. The guys smiled at the girls, which the girls returned and with that, the teens took handfuls of Floo Powder and transported themselves to Diagon Alley.

Upon arriving, Ginny separated from the group to go find and meet up with her boyfriend, Dean leaving Harry, Hermione, Stefan, Ron, and Lucy to shop for their supplies without her. They didn't mind and chatted and laughed as they bought their new spell books for their sixth—Stefan's seventh—year and went to some other shops in the Alley to renew anything else they needed for Hogwarts. Eventually, the five were getting hungry and over-heated from all their shopping, especially Ron, who was always hungry. That being, they decided to go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and nab themselves some ice cream.

Just as that was decided and the adolescents started to head towards said destination, Lucy realized she still needed to buy something. She had to buy new robes because over the summer she had grown at least three inches and she was fairly sure her old robes wouldn't fit her anymore.

"Hey, guys. I have to head to Malkin's and get myself a new set of robes." she informed her friends as they stood before the ice cream parlor. "I'll meet back up with you later at Fred and George's new shop."

"Do you want someone to go with you?" offered Stefan.

She shook her head. "Nah. You get some ice cream. I'll be fine on my own, Stef." she reassured. He didn't look convinced, but nodded.

"Okay. See you later, Luce." Harry said as he and the other three waved to her retreating back.

As Lucy walked away from the others as she head to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, she let out a big breath of relief.

It was one of _those_ days. One of those days when her sense of smell was off the roof. It was particularly keen today and she could smell anyone and everyone around her. The scents of her friends were the strongest because she was so accustomed to them. It was making her a bit lightheaded and maybe even slightly dehydrated—she figured that was mostly due to the summer heat, though. Either way, she just considered herself lucky that not too many people were shopping that day.

Ultimately, the slim girl arrived at the clothing shop and stepped causing the bell hanging on the door to chime, announcing her entry. Lucy inwardly smiled, seeing that barely anyone was around; just a few preteens—who appeared like they were getting their robes for their first year at Hogwarts—and two of Malkin's assistants, including Malkin herself.

Madame Malkin, a squat woman in mauve robes, lifted her head at the noise to spot Lucy. "Welcome. How can I help you?" she asked.

"I need knew robes, ma'am. I kind of grew out of my old ones." Lucy answered, her hands tucked into her back pockets.

"House?"

"Gryffindor."

"Name?"

"Luciana Calix."

"All right. Just sit over there and I'll get to you in a minute."

"'Kay."

Lucy strolled over to one of the chairs and sat down to wait. She didn't have to wait long. Two first years had been taken care of and Madame Malkin motioned Lucy over with a magical measuring tape in her hands. Complying, the teenager strolled over and stood as Malkin told her to. Then, Malkin allowed the measuring tape do its job. When all of Lucy's measurements were taking, Malkin went in the back to get the proper robes leaving Lucy standing there to wait some more.

As she waited for her new robes, Lucy just watched at the rest of the first years were taken care of and left leaving Lucy to be the only student there. That, she didn't mind at all, less for her nose to smell.

After a few minutes of waiting, Lucy scowled and placed her hands on her hips. _How long does it take to find a bunch of robes my size? I didn't grow that much., _she wondered, starting to get impatient. Sighing deeply, the girl decided to give herself a look over in one of the full-length mirrors in the shop to check if any of her make-up had smudged—it happened to her a lot, especially her eyeliner.

Staring back at her was a fifteen-year-old girl with light features, minus her hair. Her complexion was pale, but slightly rosy so that wasn't sickly looking. The girl's eyes were bright, small, and golden looking like cat-eyes with a sparkle of light green here and there—the green wasn't noticeable unless someone was very close to her. Lucy's hair was short, just above her shoulders, and cut choppily with her bangs hanging a little bit over her eyes. Her locks brown and dark, looking like silky chocolate. Usually, she tucked her hair behind her ears revealing her many piercings. Each of her ears had to be at least pierced four times—three holes in each lobe and one hole in each cartilage. Lucy was a tall girl, being taller than most girls her again—some older than her too. However, she fairly undeveloped for a girl age. She had curves, but not much; she had to wear tight clothes to show them off. Despite her lack of chest and hips, Lucy was proud of her legs as they were slender and long with a bit of tone to them. Finally, hidden by her clothes, were her two tattoos that she had gotten during her rebellious stage two years ago—that's why she had so many ear piercings, too. One tattoo was on her back between her shoulder blades. The tattoo was completely in black ink being of angels wings with a heart in the middle and beneath those designs, written in neat script was the phrase: "Live life with no regrets." to represent how she lived her life. Her second and last tattoo was wrapped around her right bicep. The tattoo was of red roses and green thorny vines to symbolize the meaning of her middle name: Rosemarie.

Making a face in the mirror, sticking out her tongue, Lucy rubbed any of her eyeliner that had smudged because of how much she had sweat for heat of summer. Then, she smoothed out her brown locks, tucking them behind her ears so they would stop tickling her cheeks.

Suddenly, the most powerful and wonderful smelling scent hit her like a ton of bricks, nearly knocking her off her feet. It smelled like vanilla, cologne, and summer rain. She gasped. Who could possibly be the owner of such a intoxicating odor? And why did they smell so good and so strongly? And why did it make Lucy's mouth almost water, make her throat ache, and her heart rate increase?

The door's bell rung. Whoever was the owner of the smell was coming into the shop. And the owner suddenly spoke in a cold and velvet voice that Lucy knew all too well, "Yes, Mum. I will meet you there in ten minutes. I just need to get my robes altered. No, you don't need to come in. I can do it myself. I'll meet you later, Mum."

Lucy's eyes widened and went rigid realizing who the person was, who the owner of that phenomenal scent was.

_Draco Malfoy…_


	7. Chapter: Six

_So here's chapter six--segement seven. Thanks to the four people who have reviewed me so far, but it would be much appreciated if more people would do so; I need to know if people are enjoying this. Anyway, here's the next chapter, my lovelies. I hope you enjoy. If ya do, please review. Thank you so much!_

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**Chapter: Six**

**LUCY PALED. **

How could Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, be the owner of such an amazing and powerful aroma? Why would he be? And why was it so tempting to her?

She hated Malfoy, she downright _loathed_ him. Yeah, she hadn't dealt with Malfoy like Harry, Hermione, and Ron had, but that didn't make much of difference. Malfoy was still a vile human being. He and his father had caused so many problems for people in the past and were things that disgusted Lucy to the core. So why these sudden feelings?

The brunette shook her head. She had to be imagining things or maybe her nose was just messed up—the latter sounded the closest to being right considering how it's been acting lately. Whatever it was, she had to calm herself and ignore the smell while ignoring the owner as much as possible.

Deciding to breathe through her mouth, Lucy straightened her back and placed on a calm expression. She just pretend she was fascinated with her reflection in the mirror as one of Malkin's assistance attended to Draco since Malkin was _still_ in the back getting Lucy her robes. She inwardly scowled when the assistant made the blond boy stand next her to wait for Malkin and her magical tape, but remained stone-face. Maybe he wouldn't notice her.

Such wistful thinking went out the window when Madame Malkin appeared from the backroom and spoke to Lucy, holding a few pair of robes in her arms, "Miss. Calix, I have a few robes I need you to try to see if they fit."

Lucy inwardly groaned and chewed the inside of her cheek when she felt Malfoy's icy eyes land on her. "Uh…th-thank you, ma'am." she said tightly, taking the robes from her into her arms.

"You're welcome. Now, who are you?" Malkin peered to Malfoy, who was still staring at the girl beside him.

"Draco Malfoy. I need new robes. I'm in Slytherin." the boy muttered emotionlessly.

"Right." the old woman nodded. She took his measurements before disappearing into the backroom again.

At that point, Lucy felt cold sweat on her body while her insides squirmed. Malfoy was still staring at her and he was probably smirking that smug smirk of his. That smirk, his staring, and his scent started to grade on her nerves.

"Take a picture, Malfoy, it lasts a shitload longer." she finally growled out, a bit stiffly, peering to him in the corner of her eye—its hue was now a dark mustard color. She was feeling lightheaded again, more so than before. Why the hell did he smell so good?

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, Calix? Haven't the great Draco Malfoy stare at you all day long," Malfoy said slyly, his smirk growing as he eyes trailed her body up and down. "Though, there isn't much of you to look at, even for a half-blood."

Pursing her lips, her expression darkened; she was a little self-conscious about her body. So what if he smelled good and looked good—yes, she admitted to herself that he was attractive three years ago—but those were the only good things about him. Otherwise, he was a huge git, a prick, a prat, and any other insult that Lucy could think of—she knew _a lot._

"Like I would want an asshole like you to look at me. I don't even want you in the same room as me, let alone breathing the same air." she said dryly, slipping her arms through one of the robes she had been given.

It was Malfoy's turn for his mood to darken from her comment. "You should be more respectful to your superiors. You should be honored to be in the same room with a pureblood such as myself." the other sixth year hissed.

The Gryffindor scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Whatever helps you get dressed in the morning," Her stoic expression became snide as she shot him a smirk. "Unless Daddy has to help you with that, too. Or is he too busy kissing Voldemort's ass?"

When his eye twitched a little Lucy smirked even more knowing she had hit a nerve. Well, he was going to hit a nerve as well. "At least I _know_ my father." Malfoy spat poisonously.

Lucy's eyes narrowed and she was about to retort when Malkin's voice cut her off, "Any of them fit, dear?" That was to Lucy, but she was looking at the two teenagers glowering at each other. She arched a brow quizzically. "Am I in the middle of something?"

"No," Lucy said, tearing her attention her eyes away from the silver ones of Malfoy. Her face became emotionless again and held up two robes. "These fit, ma'am."

"Wonderful. Bring them over to the counter and I'll ring them up for you," Malkin stated then, spoke to Malfoy. "And I'll be with you in a moment, son." Neither adolescent said anything as they nodded. Nodding back, the seamstress went over to the counter.

Lucy started to follow, wanting to get away from Malfoy as soon as possible, but his pale hand shot out and caught her elbow. He pulled her back towards him. When she was face to face with him, his nose inches from hers, Lucy stiffened at the close proximity and how being that close made her smell him even more so. His scent was overwhelming, Lucy had to hold her breath quickly and ignore the heat in her cheeks. She glared up him as a smirk tugged his lips.

"What? No witty or crude comeback before you leave, Calix?" he teased viciously, his grip tight on her elbow.

"Let. Go. Or you'll lose your arm." Lucy warned dangerously. He just continued to smirk, but released her. Huffing, she rubbed her arm and shot him one last glare before going over to the counter to buy her robes.

Lucy bought her robes and nearly bolted from the shop.

**XXX**

Draco allowed a triumphant smirk to cross his lips as he watched Lucy's retreating back.

He hated know-it-all, and smartass half-blood girls like her. Lucy was stubborn, sarcastic, rebellious, hot-headed, and strong-willed and many other traits Draco loathed in a girl. He was disgusted with her. However, his strong hatred for her made him want to torment her more than anyone—not more than the so-called "Golden Trio", though.

At first, because of her guarded and nonchalant attitude, the Slytherin Prince had found it difficult to ruffle her up. Nevertheless, over time, Lucy started to fight back because Draco had found enough material to get under her skin. Sure, she still ignored him and/or seemed unaffected by his insults. Yet, there were moments when he knew he made her furious because he had hit a nerve within her. A moment like the one before Lucy had left.

He was finally starting to get to her. He starting to get under her skin, get really under her skin, and he was finding _great_ pleasure in that. The blond boy had seen the way she held her breath and how her face heated up when he pulled the brunette to him.

Oh, yes, this year was going to be real good. Harassing Lucy was going to be the highlight of the year and was going to make up for everything he was going to have to do.

Thinking of said tasks, put a damper on his mood and his smirk faltered.

Maybe bullying Lucy was going to be the _only_ good thing this year…

**XXX**

She could finally breathe. Lucy's nose was still ensnared by the scents of the people in the Diagon Alley as she walked briskly towards Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the shop Fred and George Weasley owned, but it was better than being consumed by Malfoy's aroma—anything was better than being in his presence.

Shakily, she ran her long, pale fingers through her tresses and breathed out deeply. _What the bloody hell was that about, Lucy!? What is wrong with you?! Out of the people to get under your skin, Draco Malfoy is not supposed to be one of them! So what if he smells good!?_, Just thinking back to the boy's aroma made her knees weak. _It was wonderful, though…_ She jumped and shook her head, scowling. _No, Lucy! Knock it off, right this minute! Malfoy is a lowlife! Scum! A bastard! He has hurt your friends on more than one occasion!_

"Luciana?" came a whimsical and airy female's voice.

Jumping, startled, Lucy snapped her head up to see none other than her other really good friend from Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood standing in front of the same store that Lucy was heading to. The lovely blonde smiled sweetly back at her. "I thought it was you, Luciana. You always have a deep pensive look on your face. Always lost in your own thoughts."

Lucy smirked a little and shoved her hands in her back pockets, putting on her usual laidback demeanor. "You're one to talk, Luna." she said playfully.

"I suppose your right." the younger girl agreed, that dreamy smile on her face. Then, she cocked her head to the side with a curious expression on her face. "Though, I do wonder what you were thinking about this time. Whatever it was seemed to make you very flustered and that is not an easy task."

Stiffening, Lucy bit down on the inside of her cheek and her cheeks became flushed again. She kept forgetting how observant the Ravenclaw was sometimes because she acted so ditzy. Luna and Stefan knew Lucy too well.

Clearing her throat, keeping her composure, the older and taller girl shrugged. "Eh. It was nothing serious. I was just thinking of how much harder Potions class is going to be this year. I'm terrible at it and Snape doesn't make it any easier." she stated. She was good at science-type magic, but Potions didn't seem to be one of them—she was horrid at it. And as she said, Professor Snape seemed to love to hound Lucy because of her lack of skills in his subject—then again, he hated most Gryffindors.

"Makes sense, but you don't have to worry. I heard that the Headmaster hired someone else to fill the position of the Potions teacher as Professor Snape was switched to Defense Against the Dark Arts." Luna pointed out as she and the other girl started to head into the joke shop.

Lucy's brows shot up, walking side by side with Luna. "Seriously?" she asked astonished. The blonde nodded making the brunette whistled impressed. "That must've made Snape's day."

"He was probably jumping up and down with joy." said Luna, her voice having to go a bit louder because of the noise. The joke shop was filled with people, mostly kids, and was filled with various knickknacks. The place looked amazing and so lively.

At her companion's comment, Lucy thought about it and arched a brow at the image of glowering and mean Severus Snape jumping up and down with a big smile on his face. "I don't know whether I should laugh or be sick at such a thought." she muttered, scratching her cheek. Luna released a giggle, which made Lucy smile a bit.

"What's so funny?" asked Stefan's voice as the tall boy appeared before the girls.

"Hello, Stefan." Luna greeted politely.

"Hey, Luna." the dark-haired male grinned, speaking just as politely. Then, he repeated his question, "So what's so funny?"

"The thought Snape jumping up and down with happiness because Dumbledore's letting him be the DADA teach this year." Lucy answered, gazing around for the others. "Where's Scar-Boy, Fire-Crotch, and Miss. Genius?"

"Around here…somewhere. We sort of got separated when we entered," Stefan said then, chortled from the first half of what she had said. "And that is quite funny. Might be a wee bit strange to see Professor Snape behave in such a manner, though."

"Maybe that's because Snape is dried up old guy with barely any personality." she said, her golden eyes still looking out for Harry, Hermione, and Ron over the many heads of people. She was starting to feel lightheaded again because of all the people, but it didn't make her feel as dizzy compared to Draco's odor—she considered the mass to be a relief in a way.

"Lucy," Stefan scolded with furrowed brows. "That is no way to talk about one of your elders. If your grandmother had heard you--"

"Well, she's not here and besides, she hates him just as much as I do." Lucy countered dully. She turned to her friends. "I'm gonna look around on my own."

"All right. Have fun." Luna beamed.

"Don't get lost." Stefan told her.

"Righteo, mates. Peace." Lucy started to maneuver her way through the crowds.

Watching her go, Stefan sighed shaking his head. That girl always made him worry, especially nowadays. She was becoming friendlier with others, but seemed much more distant. If that didn't make him worry than her constantly walking off on her own certainly did.

A small hand was placed on his arm making the young man's head to snap to its owner. Luna smiled a tender smile up at him. "Don't worry about her so much, Stefan. Luciana is tougher than most and she has a good head on her shoulders. She's just a tad misguided." she reassured, looking up at him.

He stared down at her for a moment before grinning. "You're right, Luna. You are the only other person who knows how much of a hassle Lucy is. What would I do without you?"

"You'd probably have more nargles circling your head than you already do." the witch said.

"Yes," he chuckled. "That's probably true."

Grinning even more, Luna grabbed his big, pale hand and dragged him further into the shop. Stefan just allowed her to do so, enclosing his fingers around hers.


End file.
